FAQ Page

When Wall Street crashed the economy it took down L.A. in the process. They made us suffer then – and they are still making us pay a price. Since the foreclosure crisis, LA taxpayers have spent $1 billion in city services, tending to tens of thousands of neglected, bank-owned properties that blight our communities. Imagine the schools and parks and libraries for our children if we had we invested that amount in our neighborhoods since 2008?

And just last year, Wall Street banks charged the city $300 million in fees alone — that’s nearly what it collects in annual sales tax and over double what L.A. spends on filling street potholes!

That’s why community groups, taxpayers, city workers, and clergy are coming together to tell Mayor Garcetti and the L.A. City Council to stand up to Wall Street and recover the resources we need for middle-class public sector jobs and to restore vital neighborhood services.

Fix LA is made up of a broad coalition of homeowners, taxpayers, working families, community, clergy, and labor organizations that united to hold Wall Street accountable for siphoning off our revenue so we can reinvest in city services and middle-class jobs for our communities.

How do I get involved with the Fix L.A. Movement?FIX LA2014-06-27T18:24:32+00:00

Right now, it’s not clear who you can call to clean up an empty or abandoned house. City ordinances require banks to keep their properties clean and safe—but in many cases they just don’t bother. And the L.A. County Department of Building and Safety doesn’t have enough staff to inspect the thousands of foreclosed properties that exist (the LA Times recently wrote about this problem: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-foreclosure-registry-20140610-story.html).

Wall Street banks collect more than $200 million a year from Los Angeles in fees for financial services—not counting principal or interest payments—draining the city of money it could use to fund neighborhood services.

At the same time, hundreds of millions in cuts have been made to the kinds of critical city services that keep LA neighborhoods healthy, clean and safe. LA stopped or deeply slashed sidewalk and street repairs, speed bump replacement, sewer inspections, alley clearance, vehicle abatement and a whole lot more. Our communities stopped getting what they need to thrive.

We know it doesn’t have to be this way. Wall Street should be held accountable for gouging Los Angeles.

How do I learn more about the Los Angeles City Budget?FIX LA2014-06-27T18:29:42+00:00